Two people have died and at least eight have been injured after a bomb exploded near a major airport in Pakistan.
The attack targeted a convoy with Chinese nationals outside Karachi Airport – Pakistan‘s largest airport – on Sunday night.
Two Chinese workers were killed and one was injured, the country’s embassy in Islamabad said. Police officers escorting the convoy were also among the wounded, authorities said.
Pakistani separatist militant group, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), claimed responsibility for the explosion.
A spokesperson said one of their suicide bombers targeted the convoy of Chinese engineers and investors as they left the airport.
The Chinese embassy said the convoy was carrying Chinese staff working at the Port Qasim Electric Power Company – a coal-powered plant that is a joint China-Pakistan venture.
Footage of the blast showed flames engulfing cars and a thick column of smoke rising from the scene.
Rahat Hussain, who works in the civil aviation department, said the explosion was so big it shook the buildings of the airport.
Pakistani authorities initially gave conflicting details and indicated the explosion may have been from an oil tanker but police later confirmed it was a bomb attack.
Counterterrorism officials said on Monday they were investigating how the attacker reached Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city.
A member of the Airport Security Force stands guard. Pic: Reuters
Pic: AP
The BLA seeks independence for the province of Balochistan, located in the southwest of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and Iran.
It specifically targets Chinese interests, including the thousands of Chinese workers in Pakistan, many of whom are involved in Beijing’s multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative, building major projects to connect south and central Asia with the Chinese capital.
The oil and mineral-rich Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest but also the least populated province. It is a hub for the country’s ethnic Baloch minority whose members say they face discrimination and exploitation by the central government.
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That has fuelled a separatist insurgency demanding independence. Islamic militants also operate in the province.
Pakistan’s ministry of foreign affairs denounced the bombing, saying it was a “heinous terrorist attack”.
“We extend our deepest condolences and sympathies to the families of the victims, both Chinese and Pakistani, and offer prayers for the swift recovery of the injured,” said the ministry in a statement.
“We remain resolute in bringing to justice those responsible for this cowardly attack,” it added.
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Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif said he was shocked and saddened by the attack. He said the attackers were “enemies of Pakistan” and promised the perpetrators would be punished.
